In an update to its 2020 study, the Faraday Institution examines the UK EV market and forecasts future demand for battery production.

The new report, “UK Electric Vehicle and Battery Production Potential to 2040,” predicts that by 2030, the UK will need around 100 GWh of annual supply to satisfy the demand for batteries for EVs and grid storage—equivalent to five gigafactories, each with a capacity of 20 GWh per year. By 2040, demand rises to nearly 200 GWh and the equivalent of ten gigafactories.

Faraday believes the combined EV and battery ecosystem could be worth £22 billion by 2030 and £27 billion by 2040. Recent announcements of UK battery plants by Britishvolt and Envision AESC have built excitement about the potential to create a new battery industry in the UK.

Faraday says the UK is making progress, but not moving fast enough compared to its European competitors.

“The UK is well placed to have a leading position in next-generation batteries such as solid-state, lithium-sulfur and sodium-ion technologies,” said Faraday Institution CEO Pam Thomas. “The UK is already home to global experts in battery research and to well-established companies. We must move quickly to exploit this competitive advantage by establishing large-scale domestic manufacturing in the UK while continuing to fund long-term battery research.”

“There is a growing sense of optimism that a highly productive and sustainable battery manufacturing industry can be built in the UK,” said Faraday Institution Chief Economist Stephen Gifford. “By 2040, a successful industry could employ 170,000 people in EV manufacturing, 35,000 people in gigafactories and 65,000 people in the battery supply chain.”

Source: Faraday Institution